The high school baseball player hung a homemade motivational sign on the wall of
his bedroom.
It read Brandon Puffer will be a major league baseball player.
Indeed.
Puffer made it to what ball players call the show only to
fall from the bullpen, the state penitentiary in Texas.
Hello.
I'm Robert Riggs here with a story from inside the crime scene tape that
begins on a baseball diamond.
Brandon Puffer was a pitcher on the Boston Red Sox baseball team when they broke
a century curse and won the World Series in 2004.
But four years later,
a Texas jury sentenced puffer to five years in prison.
He survived the tough Texas prison system and Is now out.
Huffer has written a book titled From the Bullpen to the State Pen,
which he opens up about his experience in this episode of True Crime Reporter
h Huffer shares the story of his setbacks and back.
I got drafted outta high school. So you think you're kind of a big deal, right?
And you show up to rookie ball in the minor leagues. Um, I was in Fort Myers,
Florida, and essentially when it comes to the pay it, it,
they're doing better now from what I understand. But it was very minimal.
So you had your very minimal pay, I wanna say about 850 a month.
And then they took money out for a hotel and then they took money out for your
food that they fed you at the hotel and you didn't really have an option on
that. And so by the end of the day, just give you an idea,
there was one two week check I had been fined, so that was my fault.
I made a bonehead decision, got fined, I got $50 for two weeks.
And I literally said to the Minnesota Trends, I said, how do I live off this?
And they said, we don't, we just look at the bottom line. We don't,
you know what I mean? There's just deductions and this and that and that's it.
So it was very minimal and, and um, you know, you just, the pay is not there,
but the ultimate goal is you wanna be in the big league. So you,
you persevere and you fight through it.
But there are 5,000 of you in the minors that want
750 roster positions. Many which are taken already by stars.
Very true. Yeah. That's,
I think that's where the mental part of the game comes in and just really
focusing on your process and not letting external things like how many folks
you're competing against or how many spots there are. And I'll be honest,
I learned that in one day, Robert. I, I looked at the spring training rosters.
I was in the very lowest I was in rookie ball and there's rookie ball,
single a aa, triple A major leagues.
And I looked at each roster and they were all had about 50 people on them.
And as you know, there's only gonna be 25 on each.
And it really shook me up and I said, Hey, from here on out,
I'm not looking anymore. I'm just gonna put my head down and go to work and,
and hope for the best.
And so you do have to kind of block out some of that external stuff.
So I, I want you to talk about the journey to what you call the show Sure.
And where you go. But getting out of the miners, I mean,
how do you do that? Is it a grind? It.
Absolutely is a grind. Um, and I'm honest. I, you know,
I have a program now and we've had some kids drafted and so obviously they wanna
pick my brain about that. And I'm very honest. It is an absolute grind. I mean,
day in and day out. Uh, the hotels aren't nice, the bus rides are long,
the fields, it depends. Some are okay.
And you really just have to remember your why and,
and where you wanna ultimately go. And I think several guys give up.
I I call it a war of attrition.
They quit or give up right before their opportunity might happen. Right. I,
I was released four times before I ever made it to the big leagues.
And if at any point in those four I would've said, you know what?
I'm not good enough. It's not for me,
then I would've never got to experience that great mountaintop of the big
league. So it's just, uh, again, I hate to sound cliche,
but just being focused on this is all I've ever wanted to do and nothing is
gonna keep me from from that or quitting or stopping short of all 30 teams
saying, you're just not good enough. Right. Well.
Tell us about the day that you did get called up to the show.
Sure, yeah. What an awesome day. It was, uh, April 17, uh,
2002 I was in AAA with the Houston Astros.
I was playing for the New Orleans Zephyr. And after the game,
our manager called me in and uh,
they had a couple injuries in the bullpen in Houston. And he said, puff,
your team needs you. And, uh, you're meeting the team in Cincinnati tomorrow.
Your flight leaves in the morning. Uh, what a thrill. You know, just packed up,
teammates congratulating me, called my family, enjoyed all those moments.
And then, um,
the next day I met the team in Cincinnati and just had that surreal feeling of
walking into that major league clubhouse and seeing my jersey hung up and,
and all those neat things. So it was, it was a wonderful opportunity and,
and just a great memory for our family.
And how much of that do you think was driven by talent versus timing?
There has to be a combination of all of that, uh, talent, timing, uh,
even a little bit of luck. But I, I think timing you,
you kind of hit on it is the best way. Cause when it comes to the talent aspect,
most guys in the minor leagues most, you know, you have your,
your outliers are pretty equal in talent. It's pretty close anyway,
but really separates guys is is their per their consistency.
Consistency I should say. So some guys can do it really well every now and then,
but you can't really rely on 'em.
So I think when I learned to be consistent in my routine and then I became more
consistent in my outings, I think that's where they go, okay, this guy's ready.
Cuz he is being consistent as opposed to,
we've seen flashes from these other guys, but we just can't rely on 'em.
We can't count on 'em. Right. So it's consistency and then absolutely. Timing.
And of course I think everybody in that,
in that system has talent or they wouldn't be there. And.
You're a pitcher?
Yes.
Uh, right-handed, left-handed.
Right-handed pitcher. Um, towards the end I was a right-handed sidearm pitcher.
And I mean,
it always struck me as that boy that is the pressure point on the team.
Sure. Yeah, it is. I mean, it, it certainly can be a,
a lonely place if it's not going well or you know, a place of, um, hey,
you know,
I'm gonna put this team on my shoulders and kind of be a leader out here.
And obviously you're in every pitch and you kind of,
the timing and the the mm-hmm. Everything about the game kinda is,
is set by you. And so I think catcher's probably the most important. Cause they,
they're the general back there. I love the catching position, but yes,
pitcher is, uh, can again, can be lonely, but also can be very rewarding.
And so did it teach you something about stress?
It has to be incredibly stressful. Everyone's watching and Yeah, you,
you might be having a bad day.
It did, it taught me a lot about that. And,
and really what it taught me was the power of positive self-talk,
the power of controlling your breathing, um,
different mantras that I had because it was easy to get up there and
start thinking about all the external things like you're facing guys that were
your idols and the stadium's packed. And I always tell people,
my dad was a huge Dodger fan. We,
we watch games together and he'd be yelling at the relievers and I'm like,
picturing all these people in this town of Houston mad at me cuz I'm letting 'em
down. So you have to kind of really get intentional about your,
your mental game once you get there.
And then you moved on to a world championship?
I did. I ended up, um, after the Astros,
I got a little bit of time with the San Diego Padres and then I was traded to
the Boston Red Sox in 2004, the year in won the World Series.
I was called up extremely briefly, um, in September.
And I think just because they were so ecstatic to winning the first one in,
you know, hundreds of years,
they gave anybody who was on the roster at any point during the year,
a World Series ring. So I was a small part of that. Um, certainly didn't,
didn't, um, you know,
help or contribute all that much other than when I was with the Padres. Uh,
we played against the Red Sox in Fenway and we lost the game and I pitched for
the Padres. So a little bit, I did contribute a little bit,
but I didn't pitch that for Boston at all.
But still,
you ended up with a World series ring and that not many people do that. Yes.
But that's what, 2004?
Yes, sir.
And in reading your book and your history,
it sounds like the wheels start to come off after.
That. Absolutely. That is the year prior to that year, I had,
I had, I become sober. I went through a program, I quit drinking and,
and all those things. So I was sober for five years and I,
that was where my career really took off because I was healthy and taking care
of myself and resting and all the things you need to do to compete at a high
level. And in 2004 I got separated from my first wife, um,
and I was not accountable anymore at home.
And I had a little more of that downtime and my mind was going and I ended up,
you know, for lack of a better term,
falling off the wagon in 2004 and really let that battle back in my life.
And from then on was scrapping and battling, um, from oh four through oh eight,
the end of my career. Um, very tough job or, um,
very tough lifestyle for someone with those addictions. Um,
there's a lot of downtime, a lot of things kind of offered to you that, um,
I had a hard time, you know, uh, managing.
And did you start having a problem with your elbow.
That it could pretty well that is, yeah, I did. I did. I, I had, um,
I guess that was about that time, about 2004,
I had a big bone spur come up in my elbow, a big hook in my elbow. And, um,
you know, just kind of slowly but surely my stuff,
my actual physical stuff on the mound started to decline a little bit.
And so certainly my my off the field as well as on the field on the declines in
thousand four.
But you end up in north of Dallas,
where I am at Frisco with the Frisco Ruff Riders. Yes.
Which is the farm team for the Texas Rangers.
Baseball team. Absolutely. As aa affiliate for the Rangers.
And you're a player coach, which I would think, man, that's, uh,
what you'd love.
Yes. I absolutely adored it. My,
my whole goal was to be a coach after my career, so it was, it was a,
it was a segue into that.
Yeah. But one day on the field there, you're wearing the,
the jersey and the next day you're wearing a, an orange prison jumpsuit. Yes.
What happened?
Yes. So I, um, again, as I alluded to,
I had these issues with alcoholism and I just knew for me, uh, uh,
some guys could just go blow off some steam after the game. No problem for them.
They recovered. They're all good. I just didn't have that off switch,
Robert and I knew that. So it was all on me to make a choice.
Either go to your hotel and do what you're supposed to do or go out.
And I had fought these guys. So these guys were, um,
on the Frisco Rough riders were all 19 and 20, um,
big time prospects who all ended up making pretty good careers or a lot of 'em
did. I was 32, uh, had already been in the big,
it was kinda like Bull Durham Crash Davis scenario.
And they just kept pulling on me to go out and I wish I could say peer pressure
ends. I fought it for the whole year and by the end we were celebrating the
championship and I made that compromise and I went out with the guys and I,
I drank too much and I got over served and I ended up, um, as you said,
in jail the next day with a pretty serious charge that would ultimately lead me
to a five year sentence in Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
And I went and served almost four years in prison for that. And so definitely a,
uh, rock bottom moment, a um, a watershed moment in my life. For sure.
We're gonna pause for a moment for a word from our sponsor.
And when we come back,
I want to talk to you about aunt being on trial and going to the Texas prison
system.
I'm talking with Brandon Puffer,
who was a big league baseball player who went from wearing the, uh,
the jersey and what they call the show to an orange jumpsuit and later the white
jumpsuit in the Texas prison system. Brandon,
you got intoxicated, you overdid it, you were fighting addiction.
What happened just in general that got you arrested?
Sure, yeah. You know, I, I'm pretty open about my story, Robert.
And what had happened was I went back to an apartment complex that I had stayed
in the year before, previously with my family. However,
my family was not with me. And, um, a couple of the guys were staying there.
And I, something in my overserved brain and,
and a lot of this I got from those guys, I kept saying, Hey,
I have a friend that lives in here. I'm sure they're having a party.
I'm gonna go check. They're saying, Hey, go to bed. It's,
it's three in the morning, go to bed. I went over,
knocked on the door and I'm just gonna detail for you.
It just depends on the audience of how much detail I go into. But, uh,
essentially what I did is I knocked on that door. She did not answer,
obviously it's three in the morning. I walked in the door was unlocked.
And that's sad to say,
I walked in and I tried to get in bed with her and I got a burglary of a
habitation. So I, I kind of sobered up once I, I she screamed,
which is the worst part of this whole thing for me to recount.
Cause that's the one thing I remember is, is I took away your sense of safety.
And so fortunately I, you know, I didn't do anything or touch her or anything,
but when she screamed, I jumped up, I ran out. And, um, you know what,
I put myself in that situation,
burglary of a habitation because I walked in where I wasn't supposed to
with an intent to commit a sexual assault.
Cause what is your intent if you're at three in the morning and you're trying to
jump in bed and my brain and playing baseball and living the lifestyle?
I lived somehow thought, oh sure, this is gonna be okay. Right. And so,
I mean, saying that now obviously is, you know, like anyone else would react.
I respond like, what, what an idiot. What, you know,
but at that time and that overserved brain, I thought, sure,
we're gonna go and hang out.
Well, and you, you talked about that, uh, in your world,
alcohol would lead to promiscuity.
Yes. For me especially, I mean, I can't speak for everybody, you know, and I,
and I don't know, I, I've,
I've taken on the journey of healing and all those things.
I had some childhood traumas in the form of sexual abuse and stuff.
And so I don't know if there was something in there that just every time I went
and, and, uh, you know, drank, that was the next thing is, you know, you know,
try to be a man and connect with a woman or something like that. So yeah,
it wasn't an issue for me.
So you can, you know, this is a, you can do five to 99 on this charge.
Did you understand or did it hit you at some point of just how much trouble
and risk you were in?
Or did it end up being a shock later when the verdict came down?
You know what, Robert, I don't know if it ever fully hit me,
but I really kind of disengaged from any, you know,
internet or anything like that. I was just really with my family leaning in.
And one day I, I googled my name, I was like, I just,
I gotta see what's going on. And,
and I saw former Houston Astros reliever faces five to 99 years at first I'd
ever heard of it. I'm sure my attorney told me, but I was just so,
it was just such an out-of-body experience. I didn't really, uh, ingested,
I guess. And when I saw that, I said, wow. Oh my goodness.
And so going into the trial, he had mentioned, you know,
you've never been in trouble, these types of things.
You have some good character witnesses, you know,
most likely you'll get probation, that kind of thing. But still, I had no idea,
you know, it's a huge range.
But you didn't get probation.
You I did not. You got.
A five-year sentence.
Yeah.
When that verdict came down, what, what did it say inside to you?
Oh, that's a great way to, that's a great question, a great way to form that.
The only thing I really remember is obviously it was a, it was a gut punch,
you know, Hey, five years going to prison. And they, pretty quickly,
the bailiffs came and put me in handcuffs as they do. And I just,
I looked at 'em and I said, can I go say bye to my dad? And they said, no.
And they took me off.
And right there is when I really kind of got the feeling of, okay,
this is kind of your new normal, you don't have choices anymore,
you're not making your own choices or decisions.
And they pulled me off and put me in a holding cell to call my belongings.
And that's where it really sunk in. I,
I literally remember and can visualize it every time I share this,
the bars clanking and me sitting in that cell. And that's where it was like,
okay, yeah,
you're not getting out of this and this is your consequences for your actions
and you're gonna try to make the most of it.
And then typically in Texas, you'll,
you'll do a maybe a day a month in county jail until
it becomes your time to go to the state penitentiary, which is Oh,
a total different experience. Yes. You ride the bus to the penitentiary.
Just tell that story for so people really understand what Yeah.
What that's like and what happens.
Yeah. So to to your point, um, you know,
I was in the county jail and you kind of wait on that day and you know,
there's other folks in there have kind of been through the system and they try
their best to prepare you and, and what to expect. And, um,
for obvious reasons or maybe not so obvious,
they don't tell you when they're picking you up, you know?
Cause if someone was to try to, you know, meet you there,
whatever the case may be, they don't tell you.
So you basically get a knock on your bunk at about three in the morning,
you know, usually middle of the night and says, Hey, pack your stuff.
You're on chain is what they call it.
And they chain you to a bunch of other guys heading down to the same area.
We ended up going to an intake unit in Gurney, pretty much walk in,
they stripped you down naked, shave your head, check you for everything,
get you, get you through the whole process. And I mean that in itself,
obviously, you'd finally found your little rhythm and routine in county,
you know, just, hey, figure out how to get through each day.
And now is another shell shocking moment to be in actual prison and,
and intake. So that happened.
And then it just so happened as well that it was summertime.
There's no AC in Texas prisons. Uh, we were on a lockdown for nine days,
so I didn't leave my bunk. And it was just the reality of like, Hey, this,
this is it. Now you need to figure out how to be, you know,
have your life have purpose and meaning and what does that look like in here?
And so, yeah, it was a pretty rude awakening as it as it should be. I mean,
that's why it's created that way.
Did you find yourself looking over your shoulder wondering if somebody's gonna
assault me, try to take my stuff? Tell, tell me about that adjustment.
Yeah, so every day the answer is yes. Every day In county,
a few guys who had done time kind of told me what to expect.
I heard things like, you'll have to join a gang with your race. And I,
I even kinda said, guys, that's just not gonna happen for me. I,
I'll do whatever I have to do. I'll protect myself, whatever it is. But, uh,
essentially my faith is gonna get me through.
I am going to just be the most positive influence I can be in that place.
And you know what I I, I did know,
I heard when you get to a new dorm or a new cell is when they're really gonna
try to test you.
So I would sit down and set my stuff down and certainly in my mind was thinking
at any moment,
I'm gonna have to protect myself and maybe I'll have to do whatever I have to
do. You know, and I'll be honest with you, I, I didn't,
didn't really happen for me very often. I was respectful to people.
I'm a bigger guy.
Some people say that helps because they kind of prey on weaker people.
So I didn't really necessarily have a, a real difficult time like with that,
other than just the mental aspect of seeing it,
watching it happen to other people, uh, expecting any moment it could be you,
that type of thing.
I would think it, I mean,
I've spent a lot of time on the other side of the bars in the ma prisons and I,
but I would think that you would have to have a moment when you see the ones
that are really big screw ups. You're like, wait a minute,
how have I ended up with these guys?
You know, Sort of , that's a hard one to answer.
I always actually talk more about the amount of men.
And certainly there were some where you're like, wow, it's pretty scary.
And I mean, mental illness is clear in some cases and you're just like,
steer clear. That's a pretty dangerous person.
But then also just the amount of people I met that were great men,
talented men, like athletes on the rec yard or artists or musician, you know,
whatever the case may be,
that were in that same place had the same plight because of one bad choice or
addiction. And 99% of the time it's,
it's alcohol and drug related no matter what they did.
And so that really kind of took me back, you know, of like, wait a minute,
there's some really good guys in here. And I mean, you'd have to be on your,
you know,
you have to certainly protect yourself and not get too comfortable or anything
like that. But it's like, wait a minute.
Like I can relate to a lot of these people. I just thought,
this is gonna be a bunch of bad guys. I don't belong here. It's like, no, they,
I made a poor choice, so did they. And, and this is where we are. And so I,
I tried really hard and I actually have more of a heart for,
for people now after going through that experience that I didn't have
previously.
Now you had an experiment, uh, experience at one point where you,
your cellmate was Wallace Bone. Bowman, tell me about him. Yeah.
I did. Yeah. So as, as you know,
but I don't know if all the listeners know you typically, when you,
when they put you in a cell,
it's normally with people with similar time in terms of like their sentence and
similar crimes.
And the reason for that is just because obviously the more time you have,
the more heinous your crime was, the less you really have to lose.
And so I was typically just sitting with guys who had a, you know,
they call 'em short timers, a little five or 10 year sentence.
And I went on a medical chain,
I had some issues and I went on a medical chain to Galveston and I had to stop
in transit, the bird unit in Huntsville,
which you you're probably familiar with.
And they walked me in my cell and it was the very end of the run. Uh, no, no,
nobody nearby. And I walk in,
there's this gentleman on the top bunk in his boxers cuz it's summer, it's hot.
And I said, you know, as you also may know, you don't ask what you're there for,
how much time you're doing, it's just not what you don't do it. And I said, Hey,
how's it going man? And, and he said, oh,
I'm trying to give some of this time back to the state.
And so he opened the door. I said, oh, they gave you a lot of time. He said,
yeah, three life sentences. And so immediately,
I'm pretty sure I know what bone's in here for. And uh,
right away it was very scary. I was gonna just okay, survival mode again, right?
Like, stay yourself, do your thing. Your Bon And I spent,
I think it was nine or 10 days,
somewhere in that range of 24 hour lockdown together,
eight by 10. And you know, the first couple days I had my pocket Bible with me.
I'd read and hang out and then we'd conversate, we'd share stories and you know,
we ended up, we had humor. We, I mean, it was a very normal person, obviously,
uh, or, or honestly, and had a horrible, horrible thing that he did.
And so long story short, I I I,
I think I was able to encourage bone in some ways, fortunately. And, uh,
as I left, he said, you know, Hey Papa, you know, enjoyed it, good luck,
whatever. And then he said, I gotta tell you, uh,
the night before they brought you in here,
I had hung up my sheets and was gonna end my life. And, and you,
you showed me some hope and encouragement that just blew me away. I mean, I,
I do try to be a guy who, who is encourager and, and,
and all that no matter where I am. But the fact that I was just by chance,
and I don't believe in chance in a cell with bone when he needed that hope and
encouragement, um, was a really cool opportunity for me.
But he insisted at one point that he was not violent.
Yeah, yeah. Bone. So by the time we were a little more comfortable together,
bone would say Puff, I'm, I'm not a, I mean he, Robert, he, he,
he told me the details and it was, it was horrific. It really was. And, and, uh,
he would say things like, uh, I'm not a violent man. I'm like, bone, you, you,
you got a grim reaper tattooed on you and on your stomach and it also says rage
across your stomach. Come on man. And he is like, no, but, you know,
and so yeah, it was just so interesting to, and I've always been curious.
I'm into the Id live, you know, I like the ID network,
the shows that kinda stuff you guys do. And it's like, man,
I never thought I'd have an opportunity for nine days to just sit here and ask
questions and pick his brain.
Not so much about the crime stuff cause I didn't really wanna know, but, um,
just how he ticks, like, what's going on here? How'd you end up here? You know?
Did inmates figure out that you're a professional baseball player?
I know there's a case that a guard did.
Yeah, yeah. Several of them did. Um,
either by like a family member or, you know, they'd, you know,
I'm pretty open guy, open honest guy. If they asked me what I did,
I I would share it. And so they did. And, you know, I wasn't sure Robert,
if that was gonna be like a target on my back. Mm-hmm. like, Hey,
this guy, you're not out here on the field. Right. I think all in all,
it ended up being more of, um, you know, uh,
something of respect. And they, they,
I'd done something in the world in their eyes and they kind of, you know,
liked to ask about it or talk about it. And I,
I was pretty active on the wreck yard and helped some guys with working out and
stuff. And then to your point about with the guard, um,
it was a pretty hard guard. I remember, I can picture it right now.
And I was picking up my janitor supplies. I was a janitor in prison as well.
And, um, he looked at me and they can't have any contact with inmates.
And he said, um, it was one of the hard guys too. There's some hard ones.
And he said, you, you played for the Houston Astros? I said, oh, yes sir, I did.
And he reached his hand out and I looked at him like, and, and I,
I kind of took back, he goes, shake it. And I shook his hand. He said,
I'm fing proud to know you and proud of what you did.
And it brought me to tears. Uh, I didn't really show him.
Then I went back to my bunk.
It was the first time in a long time I felt human and I felt like he treated me
like a human based on, even if it was based on what I did in baseball,
it really touched me. And I didn't, it was really surprising that I, you know,
it had been that cold that, that something like that would touch me like that.
So talk about the loneliness.
Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. I try to,
it's hard for anybody that hasn't been in there and understand it, I,
I couldn't imagine getting the door shut behind me.
Mm. Yeah. It is, you know, it,
it's just so stinking lonely.
The the irony is it's never quiet and you're never actually really alone,
but you're so lonely and it's so dingy and it's so dark and you're just like,
wow. I mean that feeling. And for me, I, my me and my family are very close,
but they're not in Texas. They're not from Texas.
So I wasn't getting the visits on the weekends. I got a few here and there.
You know, they fly in the phone calls are few and far between and expensive,
but you get 'em, you know, and you,
you cherish that 15 minutes you get until that stinking lady comes on and says,
you have one minute remaining. And I just, you know,
and those are the times where you're outta the world for,
you're outta the cell for a second. You're just,
you're with your family and then you're hanging out and you turn around and
you're like, you, I am again, just all alone.
And it is even hard to explain for me after going through it,
the sense of loneliness. So I just, you know what I did, I just,
I tried to improve myself. I read things that encouraged me.
I read my Bible along with other books. I, I prayed a lot. I, um, you know,
tried. I went to classes where I could and, and things of that nature.
And that really just helped me,
just getting a routine is what helped me through it.
This's surprise our listeners. But I've had friends,
childhood and adult that went to the penitentiary. Wow. And um,
you know, one went to a,
what you would call the Federal country Club because it was a financial crime.
Sure.
But he, he talked about you didn't have any freedom anymore.
You kind of talk about that, that, look, I,
I don't have a choice about when I can read, when I can eat,
go to the bat nut talk about what that does.
Yeah. That's extremely tough. That it's very demeaning, you know, and, and I,
I'm not gonna put a blanket statement on all, you know, guards or cos,
but some were great and they treated you a human being as long as you treated
them. Like, and, and by the way, not an easy job. I mean,
as soon as they walk in, there's inmates yelling at 'em, screaming at 'em. Um,
but you know, just kind of being looked down upon not called by your name,
called literally just, hey inmate. Right. And then, yeah,
just sometimes I got talked to in a way that I wasn't used to being talked to.
I, um, you know, maybe it's cuz I played sports, you know, I got, you know,
I got respect that way or I'm a bigger guy. I didn't mind, you know,
fighting when I was young or whatever.
It was just like to be able to be talked to like that.
But my sole purpose and focus was to get home to my family. So I'm not about to,
you know, let that get in the way.
But there were a few times where it was really hard.
I remember I was in the chow hall one time and I sat in the wrong seat.
I didn't realize it, but I just sat down and they, the guy had yelled, Hey,
move over. And I didn't know he was talking to inmate inmate.
And I looked up that time I realized he was talking to me. So, oh me, he goes,
yeah, you, you stupid, whatever. And I was just like, the feeling first I was,
I was angry. I was like, I would really love to get my hands on you.
And then it was just hurtful. It was like, I'm just, I made a mistake.
I'm in here, but I'm a human being. I have family. I, you know,
if you and I could probably get along outside of here. So it was tough.
It was really hard to deal with that.
Well, you came up for parole and I'm,
I'm gonna presume you probably thought I got this. I don't have a record.
I've got a lot of support from the outside writing letters, which is typical.
And I presume one of the parole board members interviewed you.
They did. Yeah. There was several. I went in to the parole board, sat before,
uh, a couple of them. Yeah.
And did you think, Hey, I'm gonna, I'm gonna walk, I'm gonna get out. I did.
I did. When I first was in that cell, I mentioned after the trial, I, I,
I said, you know, I'm gonna take this as if I'm doing five years.
And then I started talking ,
the one thing about the inmates is they all know everything, right?
And so they all told me, you know, yeah, you're gonna get,
when you start believing people cause you want to, you wanna hang on to that,
you know, you've never done this. I said, okay. So I walked in,
I think you probably know this. And all I knew is you either get parole,
whatever that is,
or they give you a one year set off you go see 'em in one year.
That's all I knew. And I didn't know the system.
And I walked in and I sat down very brief, Hey, good packet, you know,
whatever the case may be. Um, we're gonna give you a two year set off.
And I said, uh, I don't, what does that mean, ? He said,
that means we'll see you again in two years. And that's where again,
it was a kind of like a reset again. Like, okay, this, this ain't,
this is not a gonna be a quick deal. You need to, this is your new normal.
How'd you do your time? The inmates always talk about how they do their time.
Yeah, yeah. I, you know, I think my, um,
my career really helped me in terms of being a routine oriented person.
And so I would just find a routine. I would get up in the morning,
have a routine in terms of my prayer, my, my Bible reading,
reading other books that encouraged me when we were able to the rec yard or if
we couldn't pushups, you know, doing something physical to keep my mind right.
That's still a huge coping mechanism for me with mental health stuff. Um,
so working out when there was classes offered, you know,
I did some cognitive intervention classes that I really loved.
I signed up for him. I went to him as much as I could. In some cases you work,
right, you actually have a job. So that kind of sometime goes by there.
But it was just being in a routine and just trying to, and then of course,
because you don't have choices,
that routine can be flipped at any point in time and sometimes on purpose.
So now you have to reset and find your new routine again at the new place.
In your book,
you thanked your teacher that taught that class Cognitive intervention.
Yes. Tell our listeners what that class is about.
I've seen the class and so I've seen inmates in there that were career criminals
and they don't, they didn't have the thinking skills.
They didn't think of consequences, uh, at all. And you,
they're literally being taught that somehow they've gotten through life and
probably is why they're in the prison. What did it do for you?
But tell us what happens in there.
Yeah, so cognitive intervention is, is just like, it sounds, right? It's,
it's reaching in and kind of intervening your thoughts. Like,
why do we think a certain way? Why would I have, you know,
gone down these paths? You know,
it all starts with a thought and then you've got plenty of time to kind of let
that be a fleeting thought or, or let it linger and take action on it.
And so it's all those things, like the step,
the process of you're thinking honestly. And the,
the curriculum was great. It was stuff I hadn't heard of. I didn't know. I,
you know, I went to high school, I signed outta high school,
went and played pro.
I didn't know anything about cognitive intervention and it really fascinated me.
And then on top of that, Mr. Julie was amazing.
Talk about being treated like a human. That was the one place I felt human.
And I know it wasn't just me, it was all the inmates.
And if I ever get an opportunity, I'm gonna say this cause we're your show.
If I ever get an opportunity to thank her, I would be so blessed. I mean,
she was a Rangers fan. She'd ask about baseball, but it was more than that.
It was just treating everybody,
not just me like a human being and teaching that class with grace.
And people would ask, you know what,
some guys are different learning faculties and,
and she didn't treat anybody or look down on anybody.
So it was just like a reprieve from the cells and the guards where you're
getting treated and talked down to,
to this encouraging older lady that just loved you, like you were her son.
And it, it blew me away. I mean, I received that love.
She let me take the class over and over a couple times and, um, it was amazing.
So the class was great. It really did help me in terms of, um, you know,
my thought process and things of that nature.
But it was more just her encouraging positive words and smile every day that we
really needed.
You know,
there were a couple of things I noticed in your book that obviously that have
came out of the experience in there and what that I think, you know,
everybody can learn from. And one was, in life,
you're only responsible for your actions.
Yeah, no, absolutely. I I would actually, I, I probably didn't write it,
but I would, I would go a step further and say,
you're only responsible for your actions or your response to other people's
actions, right? So, um, yeah, but I mean, more pointed to your question. I mean,
that's really all we can control literally is, is my effort, my energy,
my actions every single day.
And I'm sounding like a coach now cause I coach baseball daily.
But when I tell the guys, it's like,
there's a lot going on here that's outta your control.
Why would we waste one moment on thinking or, or, um, you know,
thinking about those, let's focus on the stuff we can control.
And so for me in there, it was, it was reading, it was journaling,
it was doing all these things. Um, that kept my mind off of,
I really miss my family. There's a lot of really bad things going on around me.
Um, I, I can't get any peace and quiet, you know,
I'm trying to go sleep and dominoes are slamming and I want to go crazy,
but I can't because that's just gonna make things worse. .
And so just all those things of, of, okay, what can I control?
What's right in front of me? And that's it.
You know, I know personally, and I've got friends this way too,
that I try to practice what I would describe as, uh,
stoicism from the Romans is that I can only control my
response, how I respond. And it sounds like that's what you did too.
The other thing that was interesting that I thought everybody really needs to
learn, especially young men,
is that our actions in this life have consequences.
Absolutely. Every single one of them. And, and here's the thing too,
not just consequences for us. I mean, obviously yeah,
bad choice at some point's gonna catch up with you.
You're gonna have a negative consequence also make great choices.
And at some point you're probably gonna have some very positive consequence or
results, I should say, rather than consequences. But not only that,
what I really learned, Robert,
is I love a book by Rick Warren who wrote My Forward Purpose-Driven Life.
The very first sentence says, it's not about you. And,
and I know for me it was all about me, all about my career,
all about everything. You know, all about me.
And my choices don't just affect me. They affected my whole family.
I had chill that they, their dad went away to prison.
I had a mom and dad that were devastated and then, and then, you know,
it just balloons out from there. And so yes, choices,
our choices have consequences. But more than that, if it was just like, Hey,
it's just me. I can do whatever I want with my life, I don't care.
That's not that.
It affects everybody around you who loves you and cares about you.
Do you think we're living in a time though where in society many people are
like, oh, it's all about me? Yes. And that's part of the problem today.
I do, I absolutely think that, and I absolutely think daily.
I have to remind myself it's not all about me.
I think human nature is right as we're babies. It's like me, me, me, right?
And yeah,
not a day goes by where I'm not like offended by something or something happened
and I'm like in a little fun. I dunno, maybe a day does go by,
but often I have to remind myself not about you.
You're taking this all personally.
So tell us what you do today. You coach youth, baseball, young men.
Do you coach any women or just men? I.
Do not. We had a couple softball teams at one point, just cuz um,
some friends started one. But for me,
we have a nonprofit baseball program here in Austin, Texas called, uh,
g p s Legend. So ages seven through college. Yeah. On a daily basis,
I'm either helping kids with recruiting with colleges, or you know,
literally coaching them during the week at practice,
we go to tournaments on the weekends and it depends on the age group,
but I like to stick with the 17 U group cuz they're knocking on the door to a
college scholarship or we've had a few drafted.
And so I kind of stick there and kind of walk them through that process,
them and their families. Um, obviously I'm, I'm, you know, teaching baseball,
coaching baseball, but also big on the mental side, big on their choices,
big on paying attention to little details that can affect them in their future.
And they know you went to prison?
They do. Yes.
And what do you try to convey to them? The, the big life lesson for them?
It such a formative years.
Yeah. Think the, the big one and there's, there's, there's several, you know,
within that, but the big one is just like, be aware of your,
of your thoughts. Again, going back to cognitive intervention, right? It's like,
be aware of what you let in,
in your thought process because those thoughts become things. And if,
if you're constantly letting negativity in and letting you know things in,
it's gonna show up in your life. It's gonna show up in your actions. And we,
there's just no way around that. You know, whatever you plant, whatever,
that's what you're gonna sell, right?
It's like you can't plant for oranges and get an apple. It's not gonna happen.
So guys, be really aware of your thoughts. Um, positivity is a big thing for me.
They get down on themselves, they're facing a lot of tough things and it's like,
okay, well let's focus on what we're grateful for.
Let's focus on what is going good for you and build off that. So a lot,
a lot of those little lessons that, you know, some of 'em I learned in prison,
some of 'em I learned in my career. Um, you know,
and I'm still learning all the time. But yeah, a lot,
a lot of that is just like, be aware of your choices. It,
it really can affect your.
Life. After he got out of prison,
puffer's first real job was to take out the trash, clean the aisles,
and help maintain the professional baseball field with a Round Rock express.
The minor league teams owner, Reed Ryan, the son of Hall of Fame,
legend Nolan Ryan, hired Puffer, now puffer coaches,
youth and high school baseball players on how to play college and pro ball at
GPS Legends located in central Texas near Round Rock in Georgetown.
I placed a link to it in the show notes. In closing,
here's my reporters recap and reflections.
No matter what walk of life they came from,
most of the convicted felons that I've interviewed did not comprehend that their
actions had consequences to quote puffer.
The longer we try to ignore or run from those consequences,
the more they will grow like a cancer that starts small,
but eventually takes over the whole body. Ignore it.
You've been listening to the True Crime Reporter podcast. Stay true,
stay safe, and stay tuned for more stories from inside the crime scene too.
This is Robert Riggs reporting.